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Earthquake Zone
 Source: BBC
Chilean Aid Organizations (Spanish)
Santiago Photos
February 28, 2010
Wayne Bernhardson Blog: February 28, 2010 - Chile Bounces Back
Turismo Chile Report - March 1, 2010
Ski Resorts Report In - March 3, 2010
Our customers respond: Comments on tours the week following the earthquake
Contact Us:
In Chile:
Phone: (56) 2 244 2750
Fax: (56) 2 244 2749
In the U.S.:
802 904 6798
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March 2, 2010
Dear Friends:
Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. We would like to thank all the persons who have written to express their support to our offices and the Chilean people in this time of tragedy. We are happy to report that everyone on the Santiago Adventures’ team, our guides and drivers, family and friends are fortunately doing fine after Saturday’s devastating earthquake. Our offices are undamaged and we are currently operating and assisting those travelers in Chile trying to get home.
We share in the tremendous grief felt by the people of Chile for their country and those who lost loved ones. In support of rescue and recovery efforts we will donate 1% of our sales over the next 3 months to earthquake relief efforts.
Damage in Santiago and efficient government response. The Santiago area, while impacted by the quake, experienced relatively minor damage compared to the areas near the epicenter. Things are quickly returning to normal in Santiago. Power was restored within 5 hours of the earthquake in the main business and tourist district, telecommunications were restored soon after. Supermarkets, gas stations, restaurants and shopping malls began opening on Monday. All Metro lines are running and the airport has begun operating on a 24 hour basis and is predicted to return to normal schedule by next Monday. Below are some of important Santiago sites taken on Sunday, February 28 approximately 36 hours after the earthquake.
The response of the government has been efficient and well coordinated and they have dedicated unlimited resources to their efforts. Aid from foreign countries also began arriving today. Given its strong economy and fiscal discipline Chile has a tremendous revenue surplus to provide needed assistance. Chile is a strong, well developed country and outside of the Concepcion and Maule regions the damage was much less severe. The situation here is much different than what happened in Haiti. Chile, with a history of many strong earthquakes, has very strict building codes and Santiago, a city of 6 million, withstood any catastrophic damage. Sadly, many older homes and those which did not comply with the building codes, in the poorer parts of the city, were damaged. Chile will hopefully recover quickly from this tragedy but will mourn the loss of their loved ones always.
We hope for better reporting in the presentation of Chile’s current situation. As expected, the international media has focused only on the most severely damaged areas. They have done this without clear indications of the geography of a country that is 2,800 miles long. This has led to confusion and much unnecessary worry regarding the 6 million people in Santiago where very few people were injured. The major damages are 3 to 5 hours south of Santiago where, sadly, there were many deaths and there are many people still missing or trapped in buildings.
It is also unfortunate that the US government has recommended not traveling to Chile for tourism. Approximately 5% of the Chilean economy is based on tourism. The best way to help the people of Chile is to make sure that the world is correctly informed that Chile is open for business despite the country’s current effort to restore the areas affected by the earthquake. The main tourist destinations San Pedro de Atacama in the north, Patagonia in the south and Easter Island were unaffected by the earthquake. People should consider Chile very safe to visit once the Santiago airport is fully operational in the coming week. With a few minor inconveniences, we are very confident in our ability to deliver the same level of service we have always provided to our customers.
How can you help? If you would like to offer your assistance to Chile earthquake relief, please donate to the Red Cross which has committed to assisting Chile with their relief efforts www.redcross.org.
Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or need assistance with travelers trying to leave Chile at this time.
Best regards,
Brian Pearson
Founder
Santiago Adventures
Photos taken 36 hours after Chilean Earthquake of M8.8
Plaza de Armas, Santiago, Chile
Emporia La Rosa - popular ice cream in Parque Forestal
Iglesia Merced
Patio Bellavista Outdoor Dining in Bellavista Neighborhood
Plaza Banquedano and Telefonica Tower
Testimonials in the days following the earthquake
Santiago City Tour - Two days after the earthquake I had a great city tour of Santiago with Victor Hugo from Santiago Adventures. We drove through neighborhood after neighborhood and saw not only that life goes on but life goes on completely normally with no signs the quake was effecting Santiago in any way. Victor's English was outstanding and his knowledge of the city exceptional. His choice for lunch was truly inspirational and he showed me a side of Santiago most tourist never get to experience. Thanks Santiago Adventures for such a great day and memories that will last much longer than the sensational news reports about the earthquake. Dave Shultz
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